


Colourwonders

by ApothecaryJellyfish



Category: Banana Bus Squad
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Anal Sex, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Relationships, Drugs, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Everyone Is Gay, Fetish, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Gay Sex, Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Kinks, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Other, Platonic Kissing, Platonic Relationships, Platonic Sex, Polyamory, Romance, Sex, Sex Work, Sex Worker, Smut, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-01-10 22:20:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18417020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApothecaryJellyfish/pseuds/ApothecaryJellyfish
Summary: Ryan is an amalgamation of all sorts of problems that suddenly falls into the hands of bartender Jonathan and construction worker Luke, a couple that has their own troubles to sort through as they enter their 10th year of being married.Maybe Ryan is the glue they need to keep themselves together, but maybe he will also tear them apart.There's no telling with someone who sees things in shadows and hears things in the white noise of the night.(Disclaimer: This is strictly a work of FICTION, this is not real life and it should not be taken as such, thank you.)





	1. Straight Out The Dumpster

Jonathan lets out a sigh as he makes his way down the dark pavement, using the light of his dying phone as a guide through the lines of broken street lamps.

He wouldn't admit it, but he likes the sounds of his inch-high heels clicking on the smooth concrete, he would prefer it in the daylight when he could see the shine of the black leather toes decorated in a silver tip.

His husband would call his shoes tacky, not something suited for a bartender who rarely stepped out from behind the bar, but Jon didn't really care. He liked his boots and he liked that they were only 20 something bucks at the local thrift, where he sourced most of his clothes, even if he could certainly afford to shop at the local mall.

But what did Luke know? All he wore was tank tops and comfy jeans, maybe a hoodie when it would get cold.

It brought a tinge of blush to Jon's cheeks, thinking about how his husband wanted to spoil him with brand clothes even if the ones he would pick out weren't really...complimentary.

But no way was Jon going to pay $1200 for a hoodie when the ones from the thrift were just as comfortable and had that lovely smell of old, soft, warm love attached to them.

With the occasional twinge of overbearing cologne that a run through the washer would get rid of quickly.

Jon's thoughts of a particular striped hoodie of Luke's he wanted to cuddle into were interrupted by a pained moan echoing out of an alley he'd just passed.

The man stops dead in his tracks as another groan erupts, this time a bit louder and accompanied by a sharp, "Shit!"

Jon points his phone's light towards the alleyway in hopes of seeing something, but he's only met with piles of trash and a green dumpster piled with packed black bags.

"Hello? Someone there? You okay?" Jon calls out loudly, and he's met with another groan.

The bags shift slightly in the dumpster and one falls over to reveal the red bottom of a Louboutin leading up a pale leg wrapped in neon green fishnets.

A low-volume string of slurred words comes from the dumpster and Jon puts his phone in his shirt pocket before quickly heading over, rushing to push the bags out of the way so he could help the person out, hoping he wouldn't cause more harm than good.

As Jonathan pushes the trash out of the way, the leg turns into a pale thigh, a black mini skirt, a smooth torso, lean pecs packed into a leather bra, and a pair of bunny ears.

The figure was actually a young looking man with mousy brown hair, a little bit of stubble, a sheer sash around his eyes and lipstick, or maybe it was blood, smeared down his chin.

"Hey dude, are you okay? Do I need to call the police or somethin'?" Jon asks and the young man lets out a groan, "Nah...I'm used to this..."

Jon frowns and reaches into the rubble to pick the man up by his shoulders, one hand sliding under to support the man's back and eliciting a hiss of pain from the red smeared lips.

Jonathan props the man up and circles around to see that the man's lips weren't the only thing stained red, a long gash decorated the left side of the man's torso, the edges caked with old blood.

"Ok, I don't care if you're used to this shit, but your ass is coming home with me to get that fixed up," Jonathan states, making an effort to haul the man out of the dumpster, letting him swing a sticky arm around his shoulder for balance.

"Fuckin' layin' around in the trash with your fuckin' back ripped open like that. You're gonna get an infection idiot!" Jon mutters and the man groans, attempting to walk out of the alley, but still teetering in his heels even with Jon's support.

"You're too kind you know that? I'm a total stranger and you're being so much of a mom that you're helping me out anyway!" the man slurs out, now clearly drunk.

"I'm not your fuckin' mom, I'm just not gonna have you fuckin' die around my fucking neighbourhood, the cops around here aren't nice to gays. I wish I'd brought the fucking car, you're heavy as shit. But oh no, it was a great night for a fucking walk." Jon mutters and the man giggles.

"Oh, the cops don't give a  _fuck_ about me, if they did I'd be in jail by now. But I don't really care, nobody does." the man slurs, his sentence a beginning to a long silence as Jonathan guides the wobbling figure down the sidewalk towards their destination.

"So...what's your name?" Jon asks as he spots the chimney and the bright purple door of the house he and Luke bought together.

"Ohm!"

"Your real name, idiot."

"....Ryan."

"Ryan what?"

"I don't have a surname that I know of, no idea what's on my birth certificate." Ryan murmurs, lurching forward as they reach Jon's doorstep and the ravenette digs in his pocket for his keys.

"Hey hey hey!" Jonathan exclaims, unable to stop the brunet from tumbling forward, the light of Jon's phone going off with a beep of death to accompany the slam of a body contacting the cement steps and the clatter of a Louboutin that went flying. 

Jonathan sighs, leaving Ryan on the floor to go unlock the door and flip on the living room light before returning to grab the discarded high heels and the drunken man before kicking the door open wider to haul him through.

A soft meow draws Jon's attention to where Luke's fluffy cat, dubbed 'Princess Brat' by Jon, sat next to the open door, reminding the man to close and lock it while also looking angry that Jon brought a stranger into her kingdom.

"If you so much as step a single fucking paw out the house, I will make sure all your catnip is going down the garbage disposal." Jonathan scowls and the cat gives him a sharp sniff, pointing her nose in the air before sauntering away and up the stairs.

Jonathan makes his way to the living room, sitting Ryan on the empty coffee table instead of the couch, not wanting to ruin the nice leather, before heading back to the door to shut and lock it before their bratty cat made her way out and had Jon in more panic than he already was.

"If you can remove your...shirt and whatever else is bloody, I'll be right back with a first-aid kit," Jonathan calls out, only getting a grunt of response before he's running up the stairs and towards the master bedroom's bathroom.

After a little rummaging around, he finds the large white suitcase with the red cross on the front in the bottom cabinet under Luke's sink.

Right then is when he pauses, looking at the cross, how inaccurate the red was in comparison to what he'd seen dripping down Ryan's back.

He could feel his heart pick up speed, his hands clammy and slightly trembling as he realizes fully what he's done.

He brought a drunk stranger he found in a random dumpster into his home, with a cut on his back that Jon had no known cause to it at this point in time.

What if Ryan had done it to himself as a ploy to get into his house and steal something? Like Luke's cat? Or their nice silverware? Or what if he had a gun hidden somewhere in that skimpy outfit and was going to hold him hostage until Luke got home to exchange him for beer money?

No, he didn't  _really_ get that kind of vibe from Ryan. If anything, he felt sorry for the brunet, he had an air of dismission and a genuine lack of caring about what happened to him.

Who was this man and what happened to him?

"Mr. Mooooom! I'm naked and ready for you to take care of meeee! You can squeeze my wiener if you waaaant!" Ryan calls out drunkenly from the living room, his slurred words devolving into a mess of weird giggles and snorts.

Jonathan is pulled back to reality by the laughter and a loud thud followed by swearing so he quickly gathers himself and runs back out of the bathroom with the kit, stumbling on the last step as he is greeted by a weird sight.

Ryan was now sitting on the floor in just a thick black thong, rubbing his head and petting the cat's head, the sash that once covered his eyes discarded on the opposing leather couch.

"I'm more of a dog person, but she's really sweet." Ryan murmurs, the bratty cat jumping off his lap as Jonathan walks closer and extends his hand to the brunet.

"I need you to get up so I can look at your back. You can sit on the coffee table actually." Jonathan comments and Ryan sighs, taking his hand and hoisting himself up, meeting Jonathan's eyes.

The ravenette feels his heart pause for a second as he sinks into the swimming pools of magnificent hazel orbs that were half hidden by heavy eyelids.

Ryan doesn't linger long before he sits on the table, leaving Jonathan standing there in a state of awe until Ryan makes a cooing sound at the cat who had positioned herself on the couch in front of them.

Jonathan clears his throat before moving behind Ryan, wincing as he sees the large cut again. He quickly opens the first-aid kit and pulls out the bottle of peroxide and a rag, wetting the rag before speaking up.

"This might sting a little...or a lot," Jonathan says, not waiting for Ryan's response before wiping down the ripped open skin, the brunet hissing sharply but staying silent otherwise.

Jon works on wiping away all the blood he could from the wound before cleaning up what was smeared on the undamaged surroundings, the pale skin clearing up of its unnatural red tinge with each pass of the cloth.

Ryan lets out another hiss when Jon wipes a new rag across the wound to dry it, the raw red gash thankfully no longer bleeding, but still a little too deep to be considered superficial.

Jonathan wasn't as comfortable doing stitches as Luke was, so he decided that since it wasn't bleeding anymore, he'd just put a layer or two of gauze, some tape to secure it, and then a layer of bandages around the man's slim waist.

Jonathan has barely finished up with the tape when he realizes Ryan's breathing had changed, becoming deeper and evener.

Did he...fall asleep?

Just when Jonathan is about to say something, Ryan speaks up softly.

"You're so nice to me man, nobody is this nice to me. I got one guy to call a 'friend' in this world, but he's at least got a place to go home to. I'm just over here, wallowing in my own fuckin misery, letting people throw me around for some cash and food for my monsters. You're over here being a good man when you don't have to." Ryan blurts out, his tone was sleepy and slow.

"Is that a thank you?" Jonathan asks, keeping his tone soft as his pity for the brunet increases.

"If you want, I don't think you're in the mood for my other versions of 'thank you'."

Jonathan frowns and stands up after finishing with the bandages, "You're still pretty gross, let me get you to the bathroom and get the rest of you cleaned up unless you want to do it yourself."

Ryan huffs, "I think I can do it myself since you cleaned up my back."

Jonathan watches with skepticism but is genuinely surprised when Ryan manages to get himself standing up on his own, now an inch or two shorter than Jon without the heels.

"Where's the bathroom again?" Ryan asks and Jonathan points up the stairs, "First door on the right and nowhere else you hear?"

Ryan gives him a nod before slowly making his way up the stairs, Jon only moving once he hears the door open and shut.

He quietly makes his way up the stairs and into his room, not really paying attention to which set of drawers he rummaged through for a shirt and a pair of sweats.

Grabbing the first ones he saw, Jon heads back down the stairs to grab the scatted clothing Ryan had been wearing and piling it onto the coffee table, putting the first-aid kit back together once he was done with that.

With everything cleaned up, Jon sits on the couch, his exhaustion catching up quickly as his eyelids droop, heavy with sleep.

The silence is comforting, a break from the shit customers that walked into work today, a pause from the injured man in his bathroom, and a cease to the worry of what would happen when Luke got home.

Jon slips into a weird limbo between sleep and consciousness, barely registering when Ohm comes out of the bathroom newly fresh, stumbling down the stairs to dress in front Jon before curling up on the couch next to the ravenette.

Jon is fully asleep by the time Luke comes home, but its a wave of anger that wakes him up before the sun can fully rise.


	2. Can We Keep Him?

Jon is startled awake by Luke grabbing his arm an hauling him off the couch, up the stairs, and into their bedroom where the door slams shut and quickly locks.

"What the hell man?! I was sleepin'!" Jonathan exclaims, only to be met with stern coffee brown eyes.

"What the hell is some stranger doin' in our house, sleepin' on _my_ husband, in _my_ fuckin' clothes?! If you were gonna cheat on me couldn't you keep in his house, Jonathan? It's a fuckin' grace you aren't in _our_ bed!" the bearded man retorts, Jonathan's brilliant blue eyes narrowing.

"Your first thought is that I'm cheatin' on you? You know me better than that Toonz, we've been friends for what, our whole lives, and together for how long? If I was gonna cheat on you wouldn't I have done it a long ass time ago?" Jon snaps back and Luke throws his hands up to the sides.

"Well, that's what it fuckin' looks like! If you've got a better fuckin' explanation, I'm givin' you a chance to say it now." the brunet says and Jonathan clenches his teeth and his fists.

This wasn't the first time he'd run into Luke's jealousy, he was a possessive lover and Jon usually loved it, not only because it usually leads to the best sex, but because he knew it was Luke's way of caring and protecting the younger man.

But right now, he knew something else was brewing behind his husband's mind, and while he wanted to know what, it was time to take things one at a time.

"I found him in a dumpster. He's hurt and I'm not sure why. He was drunk out of his mind, and probably on something else, but if I left him there, he was probably gonna die. I don't think either one of us wants to give the cops a reason to come to this part of town. I was gonna text you but my fuckin' phone died and I was tired so I accidentally fell asleep." Jon starts and Luke crosses his arms.

"And why is he in my fuckin' shirt and sweats?"

Jonathan rolls his eyes and fights the urge to grind his teeth, "He wasn't wearing much to start with Luke, I think he's...ya know, a guy out the red district--"

"A hooker?" Luke interrupts bluntly and Jon looks away before nodding.

"So you brought a hooker, that probably was gonna die, and was drunk and drugged, into our goddamn house, took care of him, put him in my clothes, and fuckin' fell asleep next to him. Couldn't even fuckin' bother to stay up and maybe charge your goddamn phone to shoot me a text?" Luke asks, visibly less angry, but still very defensive.

"Look, I had a shit day at the bar I sat the fuck down and basically passed out. I didn't even fuckin' remember you were gonna be gone all night for that shit meeting or whatever in wherever the fuck your company HQ is. I woulda called you from the landline but I didn't even think about it. I sent him to get washed before I sat down, so I didn't even know he came to sleep next to me." Jonathan states, turning to find a place to sit on the bed, rubbing his face with his hands.

"I'm sorry Luke, I really am, I didn't know what else to do. All I could fuckin' see was my own self in that fuckin' trash pile."

Luke heart immediately softens as Jon's voice fades into a sad whine, the man's shoulders giving a light shudder at the admission.

He knew exactly what Jon was thinking about.

He knew, that the younger man was thinking about the times from when they were young, the time he'd spiralled out of control after his sister left home without a single explanation. She'd been his rock, his admiration, his closest family, and then one day she just picked up and left with just a note of goodbye.

After that, Jon had dropped out of high school and became a miserable mess that eventually fell into drugs and drinks, pushing away his parents and Luke in favour of either being too numb to feel or too high to care about anything and anyone, not even himself.

Luke tried his best to look after the younger boy while still trying to graduate high school and find the money for himself, and eventually, he tracked Jon down to three towns away from where they'd grown up together.

Starving, beaten, drugged out of his mind, naked as the day he was born and covered in bags of decomposing trash and used condoms, Luke would never forget how his heart dropped down to the dirty soles of his shoes when he saw his friend.

That day, Jon's sister finally came back home with her husband, and Jon heard the words _' I love you, I really love you Delly.'_ come out of Luke's mouth as the older boy dragged him out of the trash, took him home, and started the long process of healing his body and heart back to new.

"Look, Del, I know you didn't mean harm doin' this shit, but you do know he's a stranger right? You're not, so it's not the same thing." Luke starts and Jon looks up, noticing the softer tone in his husband's voice.

"It's not like I'm askin' you to let him stay, Toonz. I was just bein' nice. Nobody deserves to fuckin' die in a dumpster, but I'm also not gonna ask him to get back in his hoochie clothes and fuck off back to the trash." Jon comments and Luke uncrosses his arms, moving forward until he can kneel in front of the younger man.

Luke grabs Jon's hands in his and fixates him with a stern look, the jealous fire behind his dark eyes gone as he leans in towards his husband, planting a soft kiss on Jon's lips that the ravenette habitually returns.

When Luke pulls back, it's a look of admiration on his face, "You've got a big fuckin' heart in that scrawny chest of yours, Del, I know you mean well by trying to take care of the motherfucker out there on the couch, so I'm gonna let you handle this how you think is right. Now that bitch is probably awake and confused, so go out there and do what you have to."

Jon smiles a little and hugs his husband, nearly knocking them both over, "You're a stupid jealous bitch Toonz, but I love you."

Luke rolls his eyes and hugs, Jon, back, "And you're reckless as shit, but you're my Delirious. I have to be jealous so you keep loving me." the bearded man teases.

"So...can he keep wearing your clothes for now?"

"Absolutely the fuck not."

~Time Skip~

The pair talk for a little bit, Jon grabbing a fresh t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, along with some jeans and a spare green hoodie he never wore, to take back to Ryan.

Jonathan is the first down the stairs and the first to notice the smell of bacon and slightly burnt eggs.

"Ryan?" the ravenette calls out and a startled yelp comes from the kitchen.

Jon quickly makes his way to the large kitchen and finds Ryan standing over a steaming hot pan of bacon, eggs, and a few slices of ham.

"I, uh, I'm really sorry for last night. I thought I'd, uh, fix breakfast for you and your....friend? As an apology for intruding so late and causing so much trouble. Also, as thanks for taking care of me." Ryan stammers, quickly turning off the stove and slightly backing away.

"I-I hope it wasn't too rude of me to do this." the brunet comments, looking down despite his eyes being hidden by his mesh bandanna once again.

"DELIRIOUS! WHERE THE HELL DID ALL MY FUCKIN' SOCKS GO?!"

"It's totally fine, and Luke ain't my friend, he's my husband. My name is Jon by the way, I don't remember if I told you that last night. Here are some clothes to wear and take home with you, although I'm not sure if they're gonna fit you." Jon says, moving closer to hold out the pile of clothes to Ryan, and as soon as the smaller man takes them, Jon turns back to the living room.

"THEY'RE IN THE FUCKIN' DRYER, NOW STOP YELLIN' AT ME!"

Ryan lets out a rather cute giggle, drawing the ravenette's attention back to him, "If you hadn't told me you were married I think that could have made me guess it."

Jon blushes a bit before moving to the stove where the breakfast sat in its pan, "You can stay for breakfast if you want, but we've both got work today, so..." he says, pulling the pan off the stove and towards the sink where he starts pulling out the meal's dishes and cutlery off the drying rack.

"Oh, no I'm fine. I'm really sorry for even staying this long. I don't want to inconvenience you further." Ryan says, frantically waving his hands before moving close to Jonathan, picking up one of the three plates in an attempt to take it back to the drying rack.

Instead, Jon stops him with a hand on the brunet's wrist, the heavy pan still held in his other hand. Ryan looks up at the taller man sharply and takes hard note of Jonathan's serious look.

"Hey, I ain't gonna claim to know what you've been through and what you're going through, and I have a feeling it isn't anything good. What I do know, is that sitting down and taking the time to eat hot food will do you some good today, especially after last night." the blue-eyed man says, letting go of Ryan's wrist and grabbing a fork.

Ryan shifts nervously as Jon uses the fork to slide two eggs, a few strips of bacon and both of the slices of ham onto his plate before holding out the fork for the brunet to take.

"What's gonna happen is, you're going to sit down eat, then go take another shower, change into these new clothes so I can toss those you're wearing in the wash, and then you're gonna let me take a look at your back before I go to work. After that, well you can book it before I leave or when I need to head out to my shift." Jon says, moving on to serve the remaining food onto his and Luke's plates.

"I...I think I'll leave when you do. If you could do me one more favour and drop me off at _The Wild Ladd_? If it doesn't bother you too much." Ryan says, hesitantly taking a seat on the furthest side of the table away from where Jon and Luke's plates were.

Jon nods before heading to the fridge for a few bottles of orange juice and an extra one for Ryan to take with him, "The cafe on 15th? I usually stop by there any way on my way to work."

"Where do you work? Where does your husband work?" Ryan asks tentatively, shovelling the eggs into his mouth first, trying to slow down and not expose his hunger as Jonathan passes him one of the orange juice bottles.

"I work at _The_ _Owl's Nest_ , it's down and across the street corner. I'm one of the bartenders. Luke works in construction, our friend owns the company but Luke's the foreman. They're working on that new tall bitch building for whatever stupid fuckin' insurance company is moving in." Jonathan says, rolling his eyes before cracking open his orange juice and taking a big swig, grimacing as he realizes he hadn't bothered to brush his teeth before coming back downstairs.

Luke clambers down the stairs in an angry muttering mood, his phone and keys in one hand, his boots in the other and his work sack slung over his shoulder.

"Hey, what's the rush? Ryan made breakfast." Jonathan says, motioning towards the plate set in front of the empty chair next to him.

"I can't stay for breakfast baby, 'Rilla called to tell me some dumb fuck, one of the new bitches, got his fuckin' self trapped in the basement because the doorways his punk ass set up were done half-assed and caved in! None of the other boys live close enough to get there first." Luke exclaims, clearly annoyed at how his day was going when it wasn't even 10 yet.

"Well take it in a container and eat it later, you just got back so I ain't lettin' you go out there without some fuckin' breakfast Toonz," Jon says, standing up to pick up Luke's plate before heading towards one of the cabinets to pull out a clean reheatable container.

Much to the ravenette's surprise, Luke starts a conversation with Ryan, although in a slightly less than rough way.

"What's your name kid?" Luke asks, looking down at the smaller brunet with a strict expression.

"My name is Ryan, but, I'm not a kid," Ryan responds timidly.

"You sure look like one, how old are you?" Luke asks, taking a seat next to the smaller male to yank on his boots.

"I'm 35, I don't really look like a kid, do I?" Ryan asks and Jon pauses in putting Luke's breakfast in its container to blurt out, "You're 35?! That's older than me!"

Ryan jumps sharply at Jonathan's sudden statement but keeps a small smile on his soft lips, "How old are you then? You don't look too old either."

"I'm 31, Luke's 36 and he looks a lot older than you do for fuck's sake!" Jon blurts out before closing the container's lid and sliding it over to Luke who had just finished tying up his boots.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean bitch? I look fuckin' fine for 36 for your information!"

Ryan lets out a cute chuckle but shrinks down in his seat when he catches Luke's stare, "Yeah he does. I guess everyone ages differently, right?"

"I guess so, but damn! Here's your breakfast Luke, it better be fuckin' gone when you get home for lunch or you're not gettin' first dibs on the shower tonight.", Jonathan says with a shake of his head, smirking when Luke rolls his eyes and takes the container to shove into his work sack.

"We've got two bathrooms bitch, there ain't no callin' dibs on jack shit," Luke says, heading towards the door with Jon on his heels.

At the door, Luke pets his bratty cat before wrapping Jon into a hug, planting a hot kiss on the ravenette's lips before opening the door.

"I should be back at the usual time baby, be careful today okay, no bringing people home from the trash cans okay? Not everyone is as tame as that guy." the bearded man jokes, but his husband fixes him with a frown.

"What does that fuckin' mean? You're mad at Ryan?" Jon asks and Luke sighs, running a hand through his hair.

"It means, if he doesn't have a place to go, he can stay here until he does. He doesn't seem like a bad guy, after all, I just, we don't know all that much about him, but I trust your judgement, okay? Just no more puttin' people in my clothes." Luke says and Jon's expression softens.

"Thanks, Toonz, I knew you couldn't be mad for all that long. You aren't as mean as you look." Jon says, hugging his husband once more.

"Who you callin' ' _mean lookin_ ' Del? You're the fuckin' ass clown!" Luke says, pressing another Kiss to Jon's hysterically giggling lips before scooting out the door towards his truck, Jon waving in his wake.

Ryan had heard everything from the door, and he couldn't help the intense pounding in his chest at having heard Luke's proposal.

Why now that he was sober, was he feeling emotions? He thought he drank them all the way, but maybe he was just drinking with the wrong company.


	3. A New Feeling

Time seems to pass too quickly for Ryan's comfort as breakfast is quickly finished after Luke's departure.

After they'd finished, Jon had sent Ryan up to the master bedroom's bathroom to get washed and changed after the ravenette did the dishes and got himself ready for work later in the day.

Apparently, while Luke usually worked from 9 in the morning to 5, Jon worked from noon to either 8 or 10, depending on if the owner of the bar was working on that day or not.

Ryan took his time in the shower as Jonathan had instructed, letting himself enjoy the hot water and the lingering scents of various wet woods and spices from whatever shampoos and body washes the husbands used.

A quick peek into the medicine cabinet behind the mirror revealed what had to be a space entirely for Luke and his face, the three shelves lined heavily with custom beard and hair oils, leave in conditioners, exfoliators, face masks and scrubs, daily washes, a trimmer, and then a single straight edge razor that looked recently used with little speckles of black beard stubble.

He couldn't deny that he noticed how nice Jonathan's face looked with a clean-shaven face, and he certainly couldn't deny how nice the rest of Jonathan looked in the daylight, dressed in fresh clothes, his short jet-black hair glinting blue in the sunlight, his startling blue eyes sparkling to match.

By the time Ryan has managed to peel off and throw away the wound dressing on his back and get dressed in the t-shirt, hoodie and jeans Jon gave him, he's clattered down the stairs to find Jonathan on the couch already, medkit and Ryan's previous outfit neatly folded on the table in front of him.

"Good, you're cleaned up. Come here so I can take a look at your back. It doesn't feel so bad now that you've rested, does it?" Jonathan asks and Ryan shakes his head, his shy nature flaring up as he habitually shrinks into himself and holds his arms together.

The older man hesitates before shuffling over to Jonathan, tentatively sitting down next to him and raising up the back of his shirt to expose his wound to the younger man.

"Well...I'm not gonna lie, that doesn't look too fuckin' good, it's pretty deep and it's probably going to scar pretty bad. I don't think I can stitch this up, but you'll live." Jonathan exhales and Ryan sighs, "Okay."

"It's still going to need dressing for today, and I don't think it'd be safe for you to...work, today. But you can stay here again if you want." Jonathan says, opening the medkit to attend to the wound.

"Thank you, but I...I still need to go to the cafe. My friend is usually there and I still need to get my phone and my wallet back from him. He usually holds onto them while I work since my apartment isn't really safe, but he's trustworthy." Ryan explains and Jon frowns.

"You can still come back you know, you're welcome to stay as long as you need and stuff. You know where we live now, and we can try and help you where we can if you want." Jonathan rambles, his heart rate rising as he finishes wrapping up Ryan's back.

Despite being skinny, the older man still had some muscle to him, the lines of his shoulders and ribs defined, and the natural curve of his spine smooth, not protruding like someone who'd probably been starving too many nights in a row.

Several smaller scars littered the brunet's back, along with all too familiar dents of track marks and lingering yellowish bruises from either being mistreated or being clumsy, Jon couldn't determine which with how quickly Ryan's demeanour changed over the course of a night, going from lewd and carefree to nervous and docile.

Neither of the men seems to mind when Jonathan doesn't let Ryan go just yet, his fingers lightly tracing down each dip and curve of the brunet's back, every rib, the dimples of his jutting hips, the dip between and under his shoulder blades.

"If...this is your... _thing_ , you don't have to pay me for a night, you've already done more than enough for me. It's not like I'll tell anyone." Ryan whispers and Jonathan ignores his need to pull his hand back, surprised that this was Ryan's reaction to a form of kindness.

"I'm good man, I'm just makin' sure the rest of you is alright before we head out. You wanted me to drop you off at The Wild Ladd, right? Got a place in mind where you wanna meet up if you decide to come back here? You...you can bring your stuff if you want." Jonathan says, making sure to keep his tone firm but gentle, noticing how Ryan would flinch at his volume peaking.

He knew the older man probably didn't mind cursing either, but earlier he'd noticed the tension in the man's shoulders when he and Luke traded blue words. People probably cursed at him for the worst of reasons.

"I don't know right now. It...just depends on how the day goes. I'd say text me, but I don't even know my own number." Ryan says, standing up and readjusting his clothes with an air of nervousness.

Jon joins him with a smile and a half shrug, "That's fine man, I'll just give you mine. Luke's too in case you can't get ahold of me. Okay?"

Blue eyes meet hazel and one confident smile meets another, more timid one. Neither one of them could tell that the other's heart was racing, Jon's stomach twisting with the same anticipation as to when Luke was about to kiss him for the first time so many years ago.

"Okay. That'd be nice. Thank you, Jon."

~Time Skip~

The car ride to the cafe feels more comfortable than tense, but there is a tinge of sadness as the pair realize they'd be parting soon, but Ryan felt happier with the phone numbers resting in his hoodie pocket, written on a flowery stationery paper in Jon's chicken scratch.

Jon parks near the front of the cafe, quickly getting out and around the car to open the door for Ryan who takes the gesture with a small smile and timid dip of his head.

Jonathan is instantly greeted by the barista when the pair steps inside, and Ryan shrinks behind the younger man as a result.

"Delirious! Hey! How are you doing today my dude?" Craig hollers, drawing the attention of both Jonathan, and the other figure behind the counter, Craig's partner and boss, Tyler, owner of the cafe.

"Mini, what did I fucking say about hollering this early in the day? You're gonna give someone a headache! That someone is me!" Tyler exclaims and Craig giggles, turning to playfully swat his boyfriend before giving the lady at the front of the line her change.

"I'm doing okay, just dropping off a friend before heading off to the bar," Jonathan says, sauntering over to the counter with Ryan trailing closely behind, the brunet scoping out the place for his friend.

"Aww, can't you stay a while? Tyler, can we get our mans his usual for free today? And something for his little friend?" the Brit asks, looking over Jon's shoulder at Ryan who shrinks back further.

"Yeah you can ring it up free, but it's your ass serving them bitch, I ain't your slave!" Tyler responds, shooing the giggling man away from the counter and towards the coffee machines only to take his place in front of Jon who rolls his eyes at their antics.

"You ditching Luke or something? It's been a long ass time since I've seen you walking around with a new man on your arm, Luke getting too many of those grey hairs yet?" Tyler teases with a good-hearted smile, and Jon shakes his head with a scoff.

"No, get your damn mind out of the gutter Wildcat, I'm just being my usual nice ass self. Thanks for the free coffee though, what do you want Ryan?" Jon asks, Craig coming back with a steaming hot cup of pitch black espresso.

Ryan cautiously steps out from behind Jonathan in an attempt to read the menu, allowing both Tyler and Craig to finally get a good look at him.

"Hey! I recognize you! I've seen you hanging out on our sidewalk tables! How come you never order anything?" Mini asks, his eyes sparkling with cheer.

"Y-yeah, I just wait for my friend to come to pick me up sometimes." the brunet comments, tensing up as he's directly addressed by Tyler next.

"Panda right? He should be swinging by in a bit if that's who's coming for you today too." the taller American says with a small smile and Ryan nods shyly, drawing back behind Jon.

Before it can click in Jon's head that he knew who they were talking about, a happy loud voice makes itself present in the cafe along with fast and heavy footsteps.

"Ohm! Hey buddy, how you doing?!"

Jon turns around to find Ryan now in the grasps of a tall jolly man with plenty of weight that basically engulfed the smaller brunet with his hug.

"H-hey Panda, I'm fine but you're suffocating me a little bit." Ryan chuckles nervously and the taller man lets go, finally noticing Jon.

"Oh hey, Del!" he exclaims again, none of his previous cheer wearing off as he wraps Jon in a similar hug, although with a little more grace as the Southerner now had his coffee in hand.

"Hey Anthony, how's it going? You, uh, know Ryan?" Jon asks as the jovial man finally let's go to straighten up his jacket.

"Sure do! We've been buddies since our first collab! You wouldn't believe how well we hit it off over some sushi and a Brisk! Broke record attendance, I had to have told you about that before, right?" Anthony rambles.

"Oh, is Panda here?!" Craig asks excitedly and Anthony grins with a wink and a flip of his imaginary long hair, "The fabulous one and only bitches! Can I get my usual, but like, 14 of them?"

"Coming right up, hop to it Mini. What's the occasion?" Tyler asks and Anthony smiles cheekily, "Someone paid the top tier and requested me to get drenched in coffee, Brock is brewing some at home but you guys sell the nice stuff."

It was then that Jon made the connection in his head of what Anthony had mentioned earlier. The chubby man had indeed once told him that he'd managed to break over 10 million views on his site, but he'd only learned about a year ago what the happy man actually did.

Anthony worked on an adult streaming site under the stage name JigglyPanda, where he would post videos and streams of him participating in food fetishes, from just seductively eating a mountain of food to using phallic shaped vegetables to please himself or someone else. He was usually by himself, but occasionally would bring on a guest like another streamer, or his husband Brock, who went by the stage name Moo, and was otherwise just a house husband.

He did quite well by himself, ranking in the top 5 most viewed and subscribed to, and on a daily basis he made twice what most corporate workers did in a month, but Anthony had mentioned before that his numbers usually jumped whenever he would bring on a guest...and that only one time about a year ago, a certain guest had earned him the #1 spot and the most views he'd ever had in his 11 year career.

Anthony's worry-tinged voice is what brings Jon out of his thoughts as he notices that while Tyler and Craig were off dealing with more customers, Ryan had basically been cornered by the larger man at the nearest table.

"You had me really worried when I couldn't find you last night. I looked in all your usual spots and I still couldn't find you, I almost drove Brock crazy staying up all night trying to figure out where you'd wandered off to. I know you're scared that someone's going to steal your phone, but you really need to carry it on you more often buddy. I'll gladly get you a new one if some fuck manages to run off with it." Anthony rambles, Ryan, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

Jon keeps his distance a bit to continue listening without seeming like he was eavesdropping, taking a small sip of his coffee as he observes the two, not really minding to check what time it was.

"No, I'm good. I don't think I'm working today anyway." Ryan mumbles and immediately Anthony presses for more.

"Why, did something happen? Not that I'm against you taking a break, but I know you too fucking well to know you don't take a break unless you're sick or hurt. Which is it?" the larger man asks and Ryan shifts again, this time looking away and wishing he'd gone through and got a coffee for himself as a distraction.

"So something did happen." Anthony sighs a tone of disappointment in his voice, "How drunk did they get you this time Ohmie?"

Ryan hesitates to respond and jumps sharply when Anthony reaches over and firmly grabs the smaller man's hand, using the other to push up the sleeve and expose bluish green marks that Jon hadn't noticed before.

"Fuck man, please tell me you aren't buying this yourself. You did well getting clean, and now..."

Ryan shakes his head, "It wasn't me. I didn't even get paid this time because they slipped me something and took me home. They eventually threw me out because they played too rough and thought I was going to die or something, and then Jonathan found me and took me home. I owe him a lot for that. He even said I could stay with him and his husband if I wanted until I can work again." the brunet explains and Jon's heart drops down to his stomach.

So he had been more than drunk when he found the older man, but what worried him more was how could anyone treat him that badly, and why hadn't Ryan originally cared what happened to him afterwards when someone like Anthony clearly cared about his wellbeing.

"You're lucky he found you, Ohm, he's a damn good guy and you're a fool if you pass them up on that. If anyone is gonna stick up and take care of you better than me and Moo it's gonna be them, you hear me? You already said you wanted to be on your own, and we let you, but now I'm not so sure that's the best thing for you right now."

Anthony concludes by letting Ryan's hand go and pulling down his hoodie sleeve before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small bag that presumably held Ryan's sought-after items.

"Thanks, Panda, but I'm fine. I'll be fine, just like I've always kind of been. I'll make it work." Ryan says, reaching out to take the pouch from Anthony, but the bigger man pulls it back.

He sets it on the table and reaches back into his pocket, pulling out his wallet and cracking it open to pull three 100$ bills before closing it again. Ryan is about to protest, but Anthony quickly shushes him and folds the bills to put in the pouch.

"I know how you are by now Ry, if I leave you to do things yourself, then you're just going to shut yourself away like a goddamn weird looking hermit crab and let yourself die. I'm not going to let you do that this time, so when we get up from here, you're gonna pick your bubble butt up and go over there and tell Jon you'd be happy to stay with them for as long as they'd like. Okay?" Anthony asks, meeting Ryan's sad hazel eyes with his own soft browns.

"Okay..." Ryan agrees meekly.

He hated being pushed to do things, but he knew that if nobody pushed him, he would never do anything good for himself. He'd probably just let himself get used all they wanted just for a place to sleep and eat for the night. He couldn't even find it in himself to bother Anthony and Brock for their couch more than once or twice a week despite being friends.

They didn't understand how awful he felt having to be looked after, how horrible he felt knowing someone would worry about him. But at the same time, he still wanted something to feel happy about.

And right now, as he did what Anthony asked him to, as Jon spluttered and told him yes, there was that little tingle in his chest that he hadn't felt before.

It wasn't something familiar, but it wasn't something bad, and right now, he was okay with it being just that.

On the other hand, Jonathan was feeling something very similar, and he knew exactly what it was, but he wasn't sure what to do about it.

He just knew he had two choices, either tell Luke now...or tell him later.


	4. A Day Of Memories

By the time it's decided that for today Ryan would go with Anthony to his apartment to collect his meagre belongings and then wait at the larger man's house until at least Luke was home, it was time for Jon to head to the bar for his shift.

The Owl's Nest was a rather fun but still refined place that sat between a homey restaurant on the left,  _Basically 407 Wrks_ , and a massive 16+ nightclub on the right,  _The Hub_.

Jon was surprised they let someone put a bar right between a teen club that didn't sell alcohol, just virgin versions of them, but at the same time, the owner of the club, Smitty, was pretty modern and open-minded about it. He'd just set a rule that if you brought in a drink, you had to be legal and sit in one of the controlled areas so that minors wouldn't be tempted to drink and so if a situation broke out that it could be easily handled.

Jon parks in the back but enters through the front, hoping to catch some of his friends before he had to don his uniform and mask, a weird little quirk of the owner's.

He's quick to spot a familiar giant of an Irishman sitting at the bar, his iconic derpy laugh filling some of the space left by the usual patrons that were yet to make an appearance.

The giant man wasn't alone though, his smaller, but still just as Irish boyfriend was sitting next to him, rolling his eyes at the taller's weird jokes while sipping at a beer.

"Hey, what are you motherfuckers doin' here so early? Playing hooky like its high school?" Jon asks, sauntering up behind the pair and roughly grabbing their shoulders with a playful shake.

"Wasn't it you who was bitching that y'all didn't have enough green to go back to Greenland, or wherever you're from Nogla?" Jonathan asks and the taller of the pair laughs heartily, "Now don't go mockin' our mudderland or we'll cut off your supply o' potatoes!"

"Hey Delirious, aren't you the one walking in late like you own the place? If Evan catches you like that he'll run your ass out." the smaller Irishman jokes and Jon cackles.

"I'm his favourite employee, he ain't gonna do shit. You have the day off or something, Brian?" Jon asks and Brian shakes his head.

"Nah, Smitty has someone else at the booth right now. Some guy convinced him that he'd be a better opening DJ than me, and well, I'm not saying he is and I'm not saying he isn't. I'm just sayin', ' _I'm his favourite employee_ '." the brunet says with a knowing wink and David scoffs.

"Yeah, but there better not be any hanky panky type'a shit goin' on in there just because I'm the bouncer they decided ta stick outside. I know I said I'd be open ta stuff, but he is waaaaay too young." their fellow ravenette comments and Brain snickers, leaning into his boyfriend with a grin.

"You're a real jealous cunt aren't you Nogla? If I didn't love you so much already I wouldn't think it's so fockin' cute." the smaller man teases and Jon mocks a retching sound as David blushes.

"Besides, doesn't Smitty already have a boyfriend? That dude that's all over Insta because of like, shoes or whatever?" Brian asks with another sip of his beer and Nogla and Jon both shrug.

"Alright, you gossiping goblins, leave Delirious alone, he's got work to do today too!" a voice pipes up, the sharp clapping that follows drawing attention to the man behind the bar.

Jon looks at his boss with an insincere look of apology and in response, the man flicks up his owl mask and crosses his arms, rich brown eyes locking sternly on blue.

"Aight fine, I'll go get ready. It's not like there's a lot of people right now anyway Vanoss, sue me for talkin' to our friends." Jon comments with an exaggerated wave, bidding his friends a temporary goodbye as the Asian man continues to stare him down.

Heading towards the backroom, Evan follows, taking a leaning stance beside the door once it closes behind them and Jonathan heads to his locker.

"What's with you today Jon? You seem more distracted than usual." Evan comments and Jonathan shrugs, stripping off his jacket and shirt to put on his uniform's white button-down and bright blue vest.

"I'm just in a good mood is all, don't get your fuckin' thong wadded up over it." Jon teases playfully, Evan blushing a little as he slightly regrets ever telling his best friend about his fetish for wearing lingerie under his usual clothes.

It was a slightly expected fetish though, Jon knew something had to be up when his buff, masculine friend, was a little too normal even after getting to know him. And lo and behold, one day Jon decides to come to work early and catches Evan getting dressed for work, which wouldn't be an unusual thing...except for the fact that Evan was wearing a sexy black lace thong and brassiere that left hardly anything to the imagination.

And while Jon had initially faked a gasp and a gag, and they didn't really talk about it afterwards, he bought his friend a prettier and better quality set for that coming Christmas, their relationship evolving into little jokes and light-hearted teasing.

"J-just get your ass dressed and out there. We're closing early today because I have to go out of town to meet with some new suppliers. And before you bitch about it, I sent you a text last night and it's still unread." Evan comments and Jon frowns, pulling out his phone from his back pocket and swiping through his messages quickly.

Indeed there was a text from Vanoss, one he reads aloud, "Closing at 6 tomorrow night for business. Get here on time for once and I'll still pay your usual hours."

Jon looks up at Evan with puppy eyes and an exaggerated pout, doing his best to entice pity from the younger man, "Does that mean I'm only getting half a day of pay then Mr. Boss Man?"

Evan can't hold back a laugh at the ravenette's expression and turns to leave the room, "We'll find out, just get changed, and don't forget your mask this time, okay?"

Jon rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out at the departing man briefly before giggling at his own childishness and re-focusing himself on buttoning up his vest.

Despite how much he would bitch about his work, he actually enjoyed it. He liked the trust people would give him when the sun went down and people came in already drunk, babbling about their wife and kids, their best friends, love troubles, or were just there to chill out and find a conversation with a temporary companion.

He didn't really respond most of the time, just made himself a good listener and occasionally the provider of a pack of tissues and aspirin when someone was having a bad day.

The times he did respond however, he was happy that he had a Jason mask or sometimes even his raccoon mask to hide behind as he exchanged thoughts and contemplations with a patron, sometimes even the occasional friend who would be too wasted to recognize him at the time or even remember him later.

He felt good sometimes, no longer being Jonathan or Jon, just plain old 'H20' or 'Batcoon'. He'd considered adding Delirious to his roster of names to go by during his working hours, but he felt better knowing it was only a name his friends could use.

Even then, nobody could say that name in the way Luke did. Nobody else could send shivers down his spine and make his soul tremble in the way his husband did when the name would slip past those rough lips he loved to be kissed by.

Jon's dreamy thoughts of his favourite Southerner come to a sharp halt as he realizes that there was probably only one other person who could make him feel that way by using that name.

It was at this moment that Jonathan was relieved he hadn't given Ryan the pleasure of knowing him by that name first, but he'd be lying to himself if he didn't admit that he wondered how it'd sound coming from those petal pink lips.

~Time Skip~

By the time things are figured out with the building, Luke's next chance to talk to his friend is over lunch, sitting on one of the high sky beams with his container in one hand and his drink in the other.

"Yo! Eatin' breakfast for lunch again I see, is Jon gonna be mad if you walk back in the house with that?" Mark asks, sitting next to Luke with his own lunch box in hand.

"Yup. I woulda ate it after I got here if we didn't have to deal with that dumbass collapsing the basement. But then again, I don't think James is gonna put up with my long ass orders when he goes on lunch runs anymore." Luke chuckles and Mark rolls his eyes.

"This is why you should bring your own damn lunch, my dude. I mean, I don't know about you, but not everythin' in town is as good as what you can get at home." Mark comments and Luke shrugs.

"Yeah, but not everyone got a Squirrel at home puttin' nut in their home cooked food." Luke snickers, startling Mark who chokes and splutters at the brash comment.

"Hey now Toonz! Just because he likes cookin' with peanut oil doesn't mean there's any other kind of nuts in my food." Mark exclaims and Luke cracks up laughing.

"I'm just jokin' 'Rilla, how is Joe doin' anyway? It's been a while since y'all dropped in on us." the brunet asks and Mark perks up at his boyfriend's name.

"He's doing great! We agreed he'd take a year off from startin' college to get some volunteer work done so he can build up some experience before he actually decides what he wants to go to school for." the rich skinned man explains, a loving tone of admiration in his voice.

Luke couldn't help the little smile that made its way to his face as he listened to his friend ramble on about his cute little boyfriend. Mark had met Joe a little over a year ago and they'd quickly gone from good friends to boyfriends, to moving in with each other about 3 months ago.

It reminded Luke a lot of when he'd met Jonathan when they were kids. They hadn't gone to the same school, but they were next door neighbours and their moms were friends, so they would eventually get set up for play dates.

He'd never forget their first interaction was Jon saying hello and then placing a hard punch to Luke's balls. After that, they had an all-out brawl on Luke's front yard that ended with Luke winning by pinning a hysterically giggling Jon down on the cement walkway.

 _"This means you're my friend now, right?"_ Jon had asked, leaving Luke a bit confused. He'd just beat the hell out of the ravenette's ass and now he was asking if that made them friends.

 _"My mama said that if someone can fuck you up but still have fun with ya, then that makes them a good friend!"_ Jon had giggled between goofy snorts and a wide grin, his missing front teeth and wild blue eyes striking up a fire in Luke's chest.

His only response after that had been,  _"I'm gonna tell your ma you said 'fuck'."_

Luke wasn't sure why he'd let that fire grow for so long, making the mistake of misdirecting that zest towards dating Jon's older sister for 8 years until her disappearance. Jon was only 15 at the time and it took 2 unbearably long years before he would finally bring Jon home with his confession.

4 years later once Jon was fully clean and sober, Luke received another well-placed punch to the balls and a marriage proposal, the engagement band that Jon held out actually just a washer he stole off someone's car from the mechanic shop he worked at temporarily.

That was the first time Luke's feelings were their sharpest and clearest for Jon, but now that he was thinking back on his interaction with Ryan, and how Jonathan had been so affected by the sex worker, his feelings felt their muddiest, although still intense.

His appetite wasn't fully gone, so he still ate his brunch, his mind a bit fuzzy until Mark pulls him from his thoughts. "You okay Toonz? You look pretty out of it."

Luke nods, "Yeah I'm good, just a little tired. We've got a new dude staying at our place, Del found him in the trash, and you know what a good guy he is."

Mark raises a brow in curiosity, "Like a bum? Sure he's got a big ol' heart, but I didn't think he'd bring one of those types home."

Luke shakes his head, almost dropping his food container, "Nah, nothing like that. Dude's some type of prostitute, maybe just a kinky dude? Someone banged him up pretty bad so Del brought him home. We're lettin' him stay till he gets back on his feet, or whenever he wants really."

"Do you think he'll actually stay though?" Mark asks and Luke frowns, leaning back to look at the sky, noticing the grey clouds creeping at the edge of the horizon, but deciding to focus on the white-streaked blue instead.

"Is it bad that I kinda hope so?"


	5. Piqued Interest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW/CW: Sex, Masturbation, Genitalia

Jon pulls into the driveway just as Luke gets out of his truck. Despite having got off work an hour before the ravenette, the older man had stopped by the supermarket for more groceries, now that they'd be serving three instead of the usual two.

"Hey there handsome, need some help with those heavy bags?" Jon asks and Luke turns with a smirk. "While I appreciate you callin' me handsome, we know your scrawny ass can't lift all these like I can."

Jon scoffs and slams his car door shut, heading towards his husband and plucking some of the remaining bags out of the back seat.

"You're an asshole, I ain't THAT weak. Just because my day job don't require heavy liftin' don't mean that I'm a total fuckin' shrimp." Jon mutters, trailing behind Luke as the taller man toes open the front door and gently moves his cat away from their path with the side of his foot.

"You're still skinnier than me and 'Rilla, so you might as well be a goddamn shrimp." Luke retorts smugly, eliciting a growl from Jon. "If I didn't fuckin' love you I'd slap you with these damn cucumbers."

Jonathan pauses in the hall for a second, re-thinking what he said for a moment before shaking his head, "Never mind, you'd fuckin' like that, wouldn't you?"

Luke sets the bags he was holding onto the kitchen counter, waiting for Jon to do the same before coming up behind the smaller man, wrapping his muscular arms around the ravenette.

"Yeah, you know I would," Luke says, leaning down the inch or two to murmur in his partner's ear, feeling the light shudder that passed through Jon, "I'm just as much of a bitch for your dick as you are for mine, aren't I baby?"

Despite what their friends contemplated, neither one of them was consistently the top or the bottom, instead, they had a pretty equal balance of giving and taking.

Jon was pretty feisty and wouldn't back down from his more dominant urges, and Luke was bigger, stronger and older, so he fits in the position more naturally.

But just as Jon would embrace his physique playing into being the bottom, Luke was open and would rarely pass up a chance to feel pleasure, especially since they knew each other's bodies so damn well after all this time together.

Jonathan bites the inside of his lip a little as Luke's lips find their place on his neck and his large hands slide down his sides, gripping his hips with a little more pressure than usual.

Luke was always a bit possessive, always wanting Jon to think of nobody but him in bed, whether it be from fucking the smaller man into swimming pools of pleasure, or being in his line of sight as Luke rode him into the sunset.

He supposed it was because he knew that somewhere in the back of Jon's mind, the blue-eyed man would never forget what he'd been through, and occasionally he would break down after sex due to flashbacks of being brutally used in the rare moments he'd been sober.

Luke wanted to take all those feelings away in any way he could, but he knew Jon hated being treated like his past controlled him, he hated being handled with nervous hands and tentative touches.

He either wanted to be in control or be controlled by someone he knew wouldn't go too far, someone who knew what he wanted and would give it to him without hesitation.

"You doing okay baby? You feel a little too fuckin' tense. I'll stop if you want me to." Luke murmurs, noting the way Jon's shoulders locked into place suddenly.

"Shit, I forgot about Ryan. I was supposed to pick him up from Panda's." Jon mutters sharply, turning and giving Luke an apologetic look and a quick peck on the lips before heading back towards the living room, pulling his phone from his pocket.

"Panda? Anthony? Why's Ryan over there?" Luke asks, following Jon, watching his partner quickly dial the jolly man's number.

"You remember what he does for a living right? On the adult site?" Jon asks and Luke nods with a curious look, "Yeah?"

"Yeah, they did a collab thing a while back that got Panda like 10 million views, so now they're good friends, Ryan stays with him and Moo sometimes. They were supposed to go get whatever he's got together so he can come stay with us. I was supposed to go pick him up after work." Jonathan explains, putting the phone up to his ear as the line starts to ring.

"Oh, aight. Lemme go put the groceries away real quick then. We can go pick up together, okay?" Luke says, moving to give Jon a kiss before turning and heading up the stairs with a playful smack to his ass just as the line picks up.

_"Hey Delirious!"_

"Hey Panda, Ryan ready to get picked up? I stopped at home for a bit and almost forgot to go pick him up, is he doing okay?" Jon asks hurridly, digging around in his pocket for his keys.

 _"Oh, he's doing alright! We haven't been to his apartment yet, he asked me if he could take a nap and he hasn't woke up yet. We'll get a move on when he wakes up, okay?"_  Anthony says, a sweet tone to his voice that easily calmed Jon down, a special little talent of the chubby man.

"Oh, shit, well, alright? I mean I'll come pick him up when he's ready. Will you call me then?" Jon asks, plopping down on the couch with a heavy sigh.

 _"For sure man! Poor guy was probably tuckered out from taking whatever gave him that nasty cut on his back. Oh! And Brock is gonna feed him when he wakes up and he said he's making some stuff to take home for you and Luke too. Do you guys like fancy pasta?"_ Anthony asks, his voice transferring happiness onto Jon.

"Yeah, sure, I've just got to tell Toonz not to start dinner yet. When do you guys think you'll be done with all that so I know when to start watching my phone?" Jon asks, fiddling with the edge of his shirt as Luke clatters away in the kitchen.

 _"I'm thinking around 8 so we don't have you driving out too late? I'll keep you posted though since I don't know how long he'll sleep. I think it's best I don't wake him up right now since he's pretty peaceful. I'll warn you now, he can have some really shitty nightmares that can wake a whole house up sometimes."_ Anthony responds, his tone dropping to a sad-tinged seriousness.

"Oh...okay, thanks for letting me know. But yeah, let him sleep. Just call me when he's ready to go."

 _"Alrighty, just chill for a while man, alright? I'll see you in a while."_ Anthony comments and Jon hums his own goodbye before hanging up.

Luke, now finished up in the kitchen, wanders over to sit next to his husband, "So when are we picking him up?"

"8-ish, he fell asleep so they ain't got all his stuff yet. We can hang for a while until then." Jon says, leaning into Luke's side.

"Good," Luke says, Jon noticing the light tension in Luke's posture.

Jon frowns and looks up at his partner, "Hey? What's up with you?"

Luke sighs a little, realizing he still couldn't hide anything from Jonathan, the younger boy still able to read him like a book.

"I'm gonna be real with you here, ever since you said that Ryan did a 'collab' with Anthony, I've been curious about what they did that got him all that attention. I kinda...wanna watch it?" the older man comments, red dusting his cheeks at the admission.

Rather than show any disgust, Jon surprises his partner with a wide grin, "I've been thinking the same thing since he told me too."

~Time Skip~

Since the beginning of his career, Anthony had nice equipment to film with. Despite his parents' initial protests, they still supported his career choice and gave him some money to start things up properly.

It showed to be a good investment in the high definition video, every wrinkle of the satin sheets and every little birthmark on his skin crisp and clear.

 _"Hey everyone, welcome to tonight's stream, we have a fun little guest today, someone we haven't had on here before!"_ Anthony purrs, Jon's eyes moving to the chat log, noticing how quickly excitement spread among the patrons at the sound of a new face.

"Is the chat always like that?" Luke asks, a few dirty suggestions catching his eye. Jon nods with a hum, "It's gotten a lot dirtier since then, but I guess that's good for business."

 _"Let's give a warm welcome to our new friend, Ohmie."_ Anthony says, turning and waving in a figure from the side. Sure enough, Ryan moves into the scene and sits on the bed next to Anthony, a shy smile on his face.

A tingle of arousal goes straight to Luke's crotch as he takes in the sight of Ryan dressed in only a mesh shirt, little black heart-shaped pasties, and very thin grey boxer briefs, his usual sheer blindfold on.

Jon acknowledged his own arousal at the sight, but he was more focused on how much healthier Ryan looked.

His hair was a little better kept, his cheeks were plump(both sets actually), his ribs didn't show at all, and while Jon could still see quite a few scars and track marks due to the clear quality of the video, there weren't quite so many, not a single bruise in sight either.

 _"H-Hi everyone, how's everyone doing tonight?"_ Ryan asks, clearly half-focused on chat and half-focused on Anthony's hand gently sliding up the back of his shirt, stopping on the small of his back.

Ryan still sounded just as shy as he did now, but there was a different level of happiness and even a coating of sweet lust on top of it all.

He seemed to be enjoying himself as the video progressed, trading little dirty jokes with Anthony and even little things like kisses and touches at the chats request.

Things start to warm up further as the food section of the stream begins, Anthony pulling over a little cart of various foods and sitting back down before pulling Ryan onto his lap, the smaller brunet giving one of his weird little giggles before wrapping an arm around Anthony's shoulder for support.

Luke watches with new intensity as Anthony pulls Ryan into a deep kiss, his hands roaming over the smaller pliant body, stripping him of the mesh shirt before letting thumbs circle around the heart-shaped pasties.

The chat goes wild with the donation cheers and Ryan pulls away from the kiss with a hot sigh and another giggle, thanking the chat for their generosity.

His soft voice goes straight to Jon's groin, his dick twitching slightly in response to the following moan as Anthony's mouth goes from Ryan's neck to his pastie, pulling it off and spitting it out before giving the nipple underneath a loving nip.

Luke couldn't take his eyes off Ryan's face, the way the younger man's cheeks were burning red as his companion continued to tease him, following some of the instructions of highest donators to continue making Ryan squirm.

Ryan lets out a particularly low moan as Anthony lays him back across the foot of the bed, his mouth wandering down further to kiss the tip of the older man's clothed erection, the little pink head starting to peek out of the waistband.

Luke can't help the hand that wanders down to his jeans, fiddling with the belt buckle as Anthony pulls down Ryan's briefs completely and quickly covers the exposed member with milky strawberry syrup, his thick fingers trailing for a moment on the underside, long enough to get a visible shudder from Ryan.

Luke looks down and over to find Jon with one hand already in his tented boxers, the button of his jeans popped and zipper lowered to show him gently and slowly stroking his half-hard member while completely focused on how Anthony easily swallowed Ryan's dick, licking clean every available space of the sticky syrup.

The older of the pair takes his partner's actions as a go-ahead and proceeds to undo his belt and pants to reach into his own boxers, giving Jon another glance before focusing back on the video.

Ryan was easily compliant when Anthony maneuvers him into laying down on his belly so the heavyset man could start decorating his back and ass with little pretty cakes, filling in little spaces with whipped cream and drizzling it with a little melted chocolate.

 _"What do you guys think, is it time to eat some cake?"_ Anthony purrs, Ryan's bright red blush extending down to his shoulders at the bigger man's words, visibly excited in how his body shivers when Anthony gets closer to him, a hand sliding up Ryan's outer thigh.

The chat isn't the only one saying their agreements, but Jon keeps his thoughts to himself an instead focuses on the pace of his stroking, knowing by now how long Anthony could tease a guest for before it really got good. The crowd would go wild for that kind of thing, and watching Ryan squirm in anticipation was incredibly arousing to both Jon and Luke.

The husbands watch with renewed intensity as Anthony maneuvers himself and Ryan so the smaller man's ass is in the air with his legs spread enough to the sides so Anthony can sit between them and enjoy the presented feast.

Ryan's squirming turns into gradually increasing moans as Anthony starts to fist his previously neglected cock while delivering little teasing nips and licks at the smaller man's plump ass, Anthony's unoccupied hand coming up to slide two fingers in right off the bat.

Ryan lets out a sharp moan as Anthony's fingers thrust in and out of him with purpose, the wets sounds making Jon's cock swell up as in the back of his mind he imagines how tight Ryan would feel around his own fingers, and possibly around his cock.

He loses focus on the video around the time Anthony actually starts eating Ryan out with vigour and instead lets his mind swim around the various lewd thoughts passing through his field of focus.

Ryan would look good pinned under him, taking his dick like a champ and loving every second of it, maybe even begging for more if he could still form words after how roughly Jon would fuck him.

Maybe he would just tease the green hazel-eyed man with his fingers and tongue like he would Luke, rubbing at those pert pink nipples before suddenly pinching them with purpose, he wondered what Ryan's screams would sound like in person if he suddenly bit down on a perky bud.

Luke on the other hand had both Ryan and Jon on his mind, wondering what it would feel like to sit aside and palm himself as he watched Jon fuck Ryan into moaning like the brunet currently was for Anthony.

Would Luke be able to get off from just that or would he need to join in? Laying underneath Ryan, fucking up into the smaller man while holding his plump cheeks spread open so Jon could fit in from behind, the underside of their cocks rubbing together while Ryan's tight heat kept them clenched tightly together?

Or would that be too much? Maybe Luke would get the chance to know, maybe not, he didn't know, he honestly just wanted to fuck into something other than his hand right now...

...but his hand was doing a damn good job as he watched Anthony switch from fingering Ryan to actually sliding his cock into the smaller man, leaning over Ryan's back to eat the remainder of the little cakes and whipped cream off the pale skin.

Ryan lets out a deep moan as Anthony thrusts slowly into him and Jon lets out his own strained sound as his hand habitually clenches a little bit harder around the base of his cock, causing his building orgasm to halt for a little.

He didn't want to cum to this, this wasn't just any porn, this was porn of someone he knew and saw hurt. There was a difference between watching porn with his husband, watching Anthony's porn(or in general), and then being on the verge of cumming from watching porn of someone they were about to have as a guest in their house for god knows how long AND with his husband right next to him.

It felt...wrong...but Jon couldn't deny the intense arousal he felt at seeing Ryan's face flush hard at Anthony's dirty words, at hearing how high the hazel-eyed man could keen as his prostate was hit for the first time that night with a quick snap of Anthony's hips, a warning for Ryan to stop squirming.

The thing that encites Jon to keep moving on and has Luke speeding up his own minstrations, is when Ryan starts to babble, both with the purpose of giving a good show, but also out of a raw need.

 _"Fuck me harder Panda~ Make m-m-me cum for you! I need y-y-you to fuck me up more!"_ Ryan's moan sounds out, his head turning to the camera, cheek smushed into the bed and his blindfold slipping when Anthony runs a hand through the brunet's hair, thick fingers catching on the silk and prying it loose.

 _"You want me to fuck you up that bad, huh Ohmie? Beg then, if you want me to make you cum then you have to beg real pretty for our viewers and maybe they'll tell us when you deserve to cum."_ Anthony says, keeping his voice somwhere between a murmur and clear enough for the microphones to catch him crystal clearly.

The blindfold slips further off and those amazing green-hazel eyes are caught in the high quality camera, every little speckle of brown near the iris visible in the same beautiful way as they'd been in person, but now lined with tears of strain, pupils blown with lust.

 _"Please, let me c-c-cum~ I n-n-need to be used, l-l-like the cockslut I am, I need you to f-f-fuck me over and o-o-over until I can't cum anymore~ Fuck me please, I need YOU!"_ Ryan shouts, a soul-rattling moan filled tinged with a hoarse lust and desperation that neither of the husbands have heard before except from eachother.

Jon's vision blurs and he lets out a strangled sound as he rushes to grip the base of his cock, but fails to stop his orgasm, cum spilling over his fingers and pooling at his base while Luke, on the other hand, lets out a moan muffled by using his free hand to bite in attempt to stop the sound from escaping as he came with only a few more strokes than Jon.

"Fuck...that...."Jon is at loss for words as he comes down from his high as quick as he can so he could close the laptop, sitting between them, ignoring the fact that the video indicated more than an hour of footage was left, and turn away, face red as he searched in his nightstand for something to clean up with.

"Was good? I mean, we haven't watched porn in a while to JUST jerk off and not like, use it for ideas. Feels like we're pervy teens again." Luke says, a light chuckle to his voice as he reaches into his own, more organized nightstand for a pack of tissues.

"Yeah..." Jon says, the mood of the room falling dull as the two share similar thoughts without the other one's knowledge.

Did they really just do that? Was that...cheating? They weren't going to act on any feelings about that right, they might be mutual after all? They would eventually have to talk about this, right?

What would happen if they didn't?

Thoughts are interrupted by Luke's phone going off, which he's barely cleaned off his hands before he can pick up.

"Hey, what's up?" the bearded man asks, and a usually cheery voice comes over the line with a bit more worry than what he was used to hearing.

_"Ok, sooooo here's the thing...I kind of lost Ohm."_


	6. Memory Hub

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW/CW: Drug Mention, Mild Violence

Ryan weaves through the familiar crowds of bouncing bodies but even here under the wild lights and loud tunes, he is invisible. He spots the familiar faces of a few past customers lingering around the adult section of the club, sipping drinks and vaping.

Yet, his destination lay elsewhere in the club, he had to return the key clenched in his hand and retrieve the duffel bag of his minimal belongings from someone who would probably not remember his face between vape clouds if he wasn't a frequent visitor and customer to them.

Ryan finds the door to the owner of The Hub's office by the stairwell leading up to the three layers of room and board section of the building. This is where he stayed, there wasn't really any other place where he could store his belongings between meetings with customers.

He liked to call it his 'apartment' but it wasn't even that, it was more like a storage room with a bed, where his clothes hung between sparse washings and where he hid his meagre earnings. He'd been lucky to have earned himself a key to the room, whereas everyone else just had in-and-out access to the rooms to crash after partying too hard or to hide out and do whatever they did.

Anything done in the rooms was left unspoken, as long as no trouble was brought downstairs where teens were allowed to have their innocent fun dancing and bopping. This was place was simultaneously the cleanest and dirtiest place in town.

Two knocks on the wood and the firm oak door opens to an exhaled cloud of peppermint flavoured smoke and a chuckle, "Hey there Ohm, been a while since you dropped in to see us." John grins and Ryan smiles back at him nervously. 

"I'm just here to drop my key and get my things, nothing else this time." Ryan says, gulping down a shudder at remembering how those hands that guided him so smoothly into the room had left bruises around his neck during his 'trade' for the room key.

"Nah borther, come in and chat a while! We haven't caught up in a bit and it looks like we both have a little free time on our hands right now don't we?" a smaller, almost childish voice calls out and Ryan spots the albino the second he fully steps into the room. How could he not when the walking bodies were the only white thing in the black-decked room?

Ryan lets out a shaky exhale as he's guided to sit on John's lap in the chair across the desk where Smitty sat in his own plush leather rolly chair, giving away how childish the 21-year-old still was. Ryan automatically turns more to the side so John could wrap an arm around the older man's waist, fingers cold as they ran up his side after prying away the layers of shirt and hoodie.

"So you told me you're turning in your key because you found a better home? That's great to hear buddy, glad you're finally getting out of that hole, and honestly, I'm surprised we didn't find a mess when we went to get your stuff." Smitty comments, dichromatic eyes peering over the rim of red and blue-tinged glasses.

"Yeah, I...I'm doing better for myself now. I'll still drop by if you ever want me to, you have my number and--"  _'other ways to find me if I ever try and refuse to pay my debt'_ , Ryan thinks to himself, skin tingling at where John's fingers add a pressure of warning as the younger man takes another long drag off his vape, knowing the sound was enticing.

For the half-year now that Ryan had been here, Ryan had paid nothing of money for the room as most people did, but he paid in other ways because of his lack of money. He wasn't the only hooker Smitty pitied, but one could say Ryan was his favourite, and the bed of his private room wasn't the only one he slept in when it came to this club.

For being so young, Smitty was very experimental, and someone could try and blame it on John's influence, but the false blond had nothing on Smitty's wild side, John was only in charge of making sure that even the unwilling would cave in with addictions. It took less than a week for Ryan to start craving stronger things than peppermint oil, things strong enough to forget his clients.

"Oh I'll let you know  _Ryan_ , but I'm just genuinely happy for your success. Hopefully, you're finally getting the chance to do better things, all the stuff you talked about wanting." Smitty smiles and Ryan holds back a sound when John's hand moves further up his torso and a teasing finger ghosts over his sensitive nipple.

Ryan nods and Smitty ducks back behind his desk to pull out a familiar, ratty army-green duffle bag. Ryan sighs in relief at the sight of the bag more than when the albino motions for John to stop teasing and to let the older man up to collect his things.

Ryan walks up to the desk and almost jumps out of his skin when a firm white hand grasps his wrist before he can even touch the canvas of the bag. 

Ryan's palm is forced open by John, who comes up behind the taller man, bodies pressed together so comfortably. One hand slides down Ryan's arm and the other around his waist, fingers pulling at the back of Ryan's hand until the bigger one is relaxed, allowing Smitty to press a small, pitch-black, ziplock baggie into Ryan's heated palm.

Hazel green eyes snap up to meet dichromatic ones and the message is clear, this, for once, wouldn't come with a hefty price tag, instead, a gift. "Just a friendly 'good luck' from The Hub...and so the door doesn't hit your pretty ass on the way out of the home in your arm," Smitty says and Ryan slowly shakes his hesitant head.

"N-No, I cant. I was getting clean before...whatever happened last night..." Ryan comments, both confused but unsurprised that Smitty knew about that. The albino seemed to know everything about everyone, down to the dirty little details of long-forgotten times.

John smiles, pressing his lips dangerously close to Ryan's ear, making the older man shudder in memory of previously similar gestures, "Oh it's nothing too bad, just take it. It'll make you feel good if you get lonely. You can try to give it away too, but we know you won't...you're not that _rude_. Keep it as a memory of the good times if you want, unless you want to refresh those memories when you come to visit us."

Ryan lets out a barely-audible sound when John's lips make contact with the underside of his ear and Smitty's eyes lock on his with a clear purpose. The sound served as a 'yes' that echoed in the expertly soundproofed room and only after searching in blown-pupil pools of hazel, does Smitty look away with a knowing smile. Ryan's hand closes over the baggie and slowly it makes its way into the front pocket of the duffle, his hand then gripping the handle.

"I-I-I really have to go, I can't be gone for too long, they'll be worried," Ryan says, gently but firmly pulling himself and the duffle away from the slithery pair of men. "Let Kryoz show you the way out then, I'm sure he has his own gift for you, don't you baby?" Smitty asks and John flashes his boyfriend a sly grin, "You know it borther."

John grabs Ryan by the waist again, his favourite place of course, and starts guiding him back towards the door when Smitty catches their attention again, "Oh and Ohm?"

The taller man lets out a sharp sound of attention before turning back to the mismatched eyes. "You're always welcome back if things don't work out, but you know how it works by now. The price doubles up...but I'm sure we can work around that if you're still a good boy after being out there."

Ryan swallows hard at the implications of the statement and he searches in those odd coloured eyes for a moment, trying to find the lie somewhere in those blue and brown orbs, but he finds nothing of the sort.

The statement follows Ryan out the door like a thunderous cloud that hung over his head. The words glue themselves to the backs of his eyes so much that he barely felt the harsh bump of someone's shoulder hitting his when someone leaves the adult section in a rush as John leads him through the bouncing club.

"Hey! Fuckin' watch where you're going bitch!" the random blond exclaims and when Ryan turns to apologize, both parties freeze, but the blond breaks the ice first with a grin.

"Well well well, look who it is. The same old human-shaped trash me and the boys threw away last night. Finally find the strength to walk back here in your whore heels looking for someone to fill your filthy ass?" the blonde sneers, Ryan backing down and away quickly, senses overwhelmed by fear and the smell of alcohol radiating off the man.

The stranger gives Ryan a nasty hiss before looking over at John, "Better let you know now buddy, this bitch's ass is looser than his mother's dick-sucking lips. Would be a waste of your time and the worst lay of your life. The only thing he's good for is for being painted red and to listen to him scream when you rub cum in his wounds if he can even get you to cum with that worthless hallway of an asshole." 

Ryan lets out a sharp sound of anger, rage rising at the man's degrading talk, memories surging a little more clearly in his mind at recognizing the man's voice a little better, repetitive words flitting through his mind until they unintentionally pop out of his mouth.

"Yeah, but you couldn't even get your dick up without thinking about your own fucking mother." Ryan hisses out lowly and the man immediately focuses back down on the sex worker, "The fuck did you say to me bitch?"

John quickly steps between the two, one hand guiding Ryan behind him while the other rises up in warning to the stranger, "Hey there buddy ol' pal you're about to get way the fuck out of line if you don't take your ass ten steps back. You can't blame someone for talkin' shit back when you started it. Now either you tiptoe back to the fuckin' windows back there or you walk yourself out of here before I get someone to drag you out."

"The fuck you will you don't run this fuckin' place!" the stranger exclaims before pushing John aside and reaching out a gross hand towards Ryan, attempting to grab at the smaller man's neck immediately.

The stranger's attempts are cut short by John shoving him back against the nearby wall, the hand that had been behind him to protect Ohm lighting quick to pull a multi-chrome switchblade out of his back pocket before pressing the exposed blade to the man's neck, stoned blue eyes sparkling with a scary determination to use that knife.

"I don't run this place, but you're going to be running the second you walk out those doors like this never happened. And if you know what's good for you, you won't say a fucking cowardly word to the police or the second your report is entered in, someone is gonna get the call to come knocking on your door with something scarier than this pretty knife in their pocket."

"Now you don't want the first time I read your name to be in the local obituary, instead of your bill for your drinks tonight, would ya?" John hisses, tone playfully sweet as he presses the edge of the knife against the man's neck harder, the pressure enough to make a few bubbles of blood rise to the surface.

The stranger's eyes flood with panic and adrenaline because despite being bigger than John, he was no match for a knife while this inebriated. Even if the smaller man was joking, and even while drunk, the thought of a possible threat to his family, or worse, having his actions of the previous night exposed, was enough for a disgusting warmth to spread down his legs.

The man lets out a bare whisper of a yes, but John holds him there a little longer until Ryan's hand on his shoulder pulls him away, allowing the stranger to scamper away. "Ah shit, looks like mama's boy pissed himself. What a pussy, now I have to ask someone to come clean that shit up." John mutters, but he seemed more than pleased with himself for getting a grown man to run away in terror.

Ryan gently grabs at John's sleeve after the taller boy fancily flips the switchblade back into his back pocket in exchange for his vape before looking down at the older man, "Thanks Kryoz...I ow--"

"You don't owe me shit Ohm, not this time. Fuck heads like that are fun to mess with anyway. You're always bringing in the good stuff aren't ya? Besides, we both know he's a liar,  _you're always tight._ " John says, leaning in to whisper the last few words into Ryan's ear, making the brunette blush bright red.

John smirks at the man's reaction before wrapping his arm around Ryan's waist and continuing to guide him towards the exit. John spots Nogla and motions with his head for the Irishman to head inside for a moment, the tallest of the three initially hesitant to follow the order, but doing so when he finally processed the face of his boss's boyfriend again.

This left Ryan and John outside alone, the usually present line for the club was absent tonight because it was just one of those slow days, the usually busy street oddly empty even if the nearby buildings were packed to the brim with bodies, especially the restaurant two doors down from the club.

Ryan leans against the wall near the entrance door when John steps in front of him, one hand pressed to the wall beside Ryan's head and the other digging in his pocket for something after pocketing his vape again. John finds what he's looking for and pops it in his mouth before Ryan can even see the colour of the item.

Ryan doesn't get a chance to ask what the item was before lips are pressed to his and a hand is cupping the front of his sweatpants, familiar fingers caressing his clothed groin as an even more familiar tongue parts his lips and an all too recognizable item slips into clack against his teeth.

Ryan is tempted to pull away, but, he couldn't. Not this time. He didn't know if it was because he'd already been tempted since he walked into their office, or because of Smitty's gift, or because he was so rattled and angry at the stranger who'd brutally used him the night before.

So in response, he opens his mouth slowly, allowing John to almost lovingly guide the pill down to the back of his throat, the tiny disk starting to spread its sweet taste in his mouth as he habitually sucks at the tongue helping distribute the flavour around his teeth.

Ryan moans into the kiss, pressing harder against John until their teeth collide, he didn't want to let this sweet moment go, he'd learned to appreciate and savour every moment of kindness people could offer him, oases of serenity in the raging desert of his happiness starved psyche.

Eventually though, the kiss has to end and John pulls away with a whine from Ryan, once still hands rising to reach at broad shoulders in the same manner they had not even two weeks ago, trying to grasp at a quickly fading pleasantness that he wanted to keep pouring into the pits of his starved soul.

John chuckles and lowers the hand that was next to Ryan's head to cup a stubbled chin, a thumb running over pinkened slick lips, "You missed being kissed like that, didn't you?"

Ryan looks away in embarrassment, but still, he nods. "Well, you know where to find us if you need more of  _any of that_. I know you though, you aren't gonna come back just cos I asked you to, not when you already have your heart set on something else." John continues, pulling Ryan into a short but sweet hug before pulling away and turning back towards the club.

"Go chase your gay ass rainbow butt buddies, maybe you'll find that pot of gold you were looking for all this time. And if you decide you want something sweeter, the offer still stands. See ya later Ohmie." John smirks before smoothly sliding back inside the bopping club, leaving Ryan with a long exhale and a bitter flavour tainting the sweet that flooded his mouth.

Ryan shakes his head to clear his thoughts, hoping he would make it home without having worried anyone too badly, and hopefully to a bed where he could ride out the drug's slow-acting effects in peace.

He didn't want to face any more consequences from the actions of others, not when his heart thudded so loud in his ears at the thought of being caught and punished by two specific individuals who'd too recently taken a mess like him into their lives.


End file.
